


déjà vu

by thewayofthemandalorian



Category: We Can Be Heroes (2020)
Genre: Dreams, F/M, Gentle Kissing, Grief/Mourning, Implied/Referenced Sex, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:26:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28439088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewayofthemandalorian/pseuds/thewayofthemandalorian
Summary: You’ve had feelings for your next-door neighbour Marcus for the past year and a half. Thinking him to be a scientist, you’re shocked to see him among the Heroics - even leading them - when the aliens attack the city. You think the worst, that he’s died. When he returns home, all of your fears and feelings come to the surface as you confront him, relieved that he’s alive and safe. The last thing on your mind is that he is actually a superhero.
Relationships: Marcus Moreno/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 64





	déjà vu

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve had this idea since the trailer first dropped, but tweaked it a little bit after watching the movie. I had fun with the movie and I had fun writing for a new character, too.
> 
> Warnings: Implied/referenced sex, kissing, pining, mentions of death/grieving process.
> 
> Find me on tumblr: @thewayofthemandalorian

Marcus hovered above you, his lips mere inches from your face. “Sweetheart,” he said in a low voice, his already dark eyes even darker with want for you. His hand stroked your bare arm as you gazed up into his eyes, want filling your own eyes.

“I’ve wanted this for a long time,” you whispered as Marcus peppered kisses across your cheek and jaw.

“Me, too.”

Just before his lips were able to meet yours for a proper kiss, your alarm went off, effectively breaking the delicious dream you were having about your next-door neighbour, Marcus Moreno.

Groaning for a couple of different reasons, you blindly fumbled for your phone on your night-table to silence the alarm.

If only going back to sleep and resuming this particular dream were so easy.

It wasn’t the first sort of dream you’d had about Marcus. He’d been the starring role in many of your dreams for the past year and a bit since you first realized the extent of your feelings for the widowed, single dad. He’d been featured in your dreams before that, but you hadn’t paid it any mind until you noticed it was a recurring dream, not very dissimilar to the one that had just been so rudely interrupted moments ago.

You knew that Marcus would never reciprocate your feelings. As kind and caring as he was, you knew the scientist didn’t even so much as look twice in your direction.

Sighing and rubbing your hand over your face, you forced yourself to wake up properly. Picking up your phone, you saw that it was just after seven in the morning. You sighed again. It was going to be a long day.

 _Was it Friday, yet_?

Blissfully unaware of what was going on with the Heroics this morning, you padded down the hallway to take a long, hot shower and hopefully get your mind off certain people.

Freshly showered, your hair still damp, you stepped onto the front porch to collect the newspaper.

Glancing at the headline on the front page, something about the mayor’s newest city hall - you wondered how long it would be until the Heroics did something to destroy _this_ city hall - you faintly heard Marcus and Missy Moreno’s voices as they emerged from the house next door.

“-right over there, Dad!” you heard Missy say.

You looked up to see Missy and Marcus, heading to the car.

 _Marcus_. _In that leather jacket_. Your mouth ran dry as you tried not to stare too much.

He looked distracted this morning.

“Morning!” he said, noticing you on your front porch, newspaper in hand.

You were suddenly grateful that you had gotten dressed after your shower and hadn’t just thrown on a robe or your pajamas again. “Hi,” you replied.

His eyes darted around distractedly. He was usually so chatty and attentive, but there was something definitely eating at him this morning. Work stress, perhaps? You weren’t a scientist, but you imagined it could be a stressful career.

Gratefully, Missy chimed in, baffled by the two of you. “We’re gonna be late, Dad.”

Marcus snapped to attention. “You’re right.” He gave you a smile. “Have a nice day,” he said, opening the passenger door for his daughter, still almost in a daze.

“Y-you too,” you replied, giving him a smile of your own. You waved as they drove out of the driveway onto the street in the direction of the middle school, completely oblivious to what Missy was asking her father.

“When are you gonna ask her out?”

* * *

There were days when you loved being able to work from home. Today was not one of those days.

All morning, you had thought of nothing but the dream you’d had about Marcus. And how distracted he had seemed this morning when your paths crossed, seemingly out of nowhere.

Glancing at the clock in the corner of your computer monitor, you saw that it was just after eleven. Three hours of work and it felt like you had barely gotten anything done.

Time for a break.

You grabbed your phone from where it was sitting in the pile of stuff on your desk. Just as you were about to open Twitter or something, your friend texted you.

_Turn on the TV. Right now._

You frowned. _What channel_?

The response was immediate. _Any news station_.

The channel didn’t have to be changed, since you had watched a bit of the news last night before bed.

An alien attack?

 _Is this a movie or something?_ This couldn’t be real.

The female news anchor was speaking over live footage of the Heroics team trying to take out the threat with poor results. You turned the volume up to hear better. “What in the world is _happening_? Our heroes are dropping like flies!”

 _This must have been what Marcus was distracted about this morning,_ you thought as the news coverage continued.

The other news anchor spoke up then. “It’s all up to Marcus Moreno now.”

If you hadn’t been paying attention before, you certainly were now. _That_ Marcus Moreno? Nerdy, next-door neighbour scientist that you were head over heels for, Marcus Moreno?

Sure enough, the camera panned to him just as the suspending wires he was flying on were broken, Marcus falling from the sky and crashing to the ground with a grunt before picking himself up. Your hands covered your mouth as you watched.

He looked so _different_. It was clearly Marcus. But his glasses were gone. He was wearing all black, including a tac vest and fingerless gloves. As he got to his feet he saw that he was surrounded by the alien … things on all sides.

 _Marcus could do it_ , you thought, despite knowing nothing of his heroic capabilities.

He pressed something on his watch. A minute later he spoke into it, clearly speaking to Missy. “I know. I promised I wouldn’t be a hero anymore.” He reached for the katanas that were strapped to the back of his vest.

Marcus Moreno, Heroic. You had no idea how you hadn’t seen it before now. You’d been in his house a number of times to watch Missy when he was working late or for barbecues in the summer. How had you never heard of this before?

“But I’m still the leader of the Heroics.”

You didn’t think your eyes could get any wider as you watched the screen in shock.

“And a good leader leads by example. I’m sorry, honey.”

It felt as though your breath had been punched from your lungs as you watched Marcus, the man you thought you had known so well, the man you loved, sacrifice himself, running towards the aliens.

The words that the news anchors were saying were irrelevant. They floated over your head. Nothing else mattered.

Marcus was surely dead.

 _Missy_.

You tried dialling her number. It went straight to voicemail. “Missy, sweetheart, it’s me. I just saw - on the news about-about your dad.” You took a breath, having to be strong for the pre-teen girl. “I’m so sorry. If there’s anything you need me to do, just say the word.”

Then you hung up and tried not to burst into tears.

* * *

Of all the things his mind went to besides worrying about Missy while his fellow Heroics bickered, Marcus found himself thinking about you.

It wasn’t surprising, he thought about you more than he probably should. He thought his crush on you was subtle, but more and more often, Missy kept dropping hints that he should ask you out. This morning she had outright asked him when that would happen.

It had been four years since his wife had passed away. He missed her still, knew that he would always miss her. But he had been ready for some time to date. He had gone on a few dates, but nothing that stuck. He had even tried going on a date with Ms. Vox, another single Heroic parent. The two of them had nothing in common but agreed that they would never speak of it again at the end of the night when they parted ways.

But there had been no one that had truly caught his eye. Until you moved in next door two years ago.

He had tried to keep it friendly, not knowing if you would reciprocate his feelings that he hadn’t been aware of until six months ago when you had helped him re-paint Missy’s room, and he thought absently, “I could do this all the time with her” as the three of you ate pizza in between coats of paint, laughing about some mundane thing or other.

Marcus made a decision as he watched his fellow Heroics continue to disagree. If he got out of this alive and with Missy safe, he would ask you out the first chance he got.

Missy was okay with it. She knew that no one Marcus would date or marry would replace her mom. She missed her mom a lot, but she wanted her dad to be happy, and she knew that her mom wanted Marcus to be happy. She had made him promise that he would be happy. It might be difficult adjusting, but Missy liked you. And she knew that her dad liked you, more than he let on.

As the Heroics bickered and argued before Anita Moreno showed up and whipped them into shape in no time flat, you paced back and forth in your living room. Should you go over to the Morenos and wait for news?

Nothing new was being reported on the news, just that the aliens were going to overtake the planet or something. The president didn’t say much by way of encouragement, not that he ever did, the idiot.

You should have asked him out. Or even asked him over for dinner. Something. _Anything._

You were a grown woman, why was it so hard for you to admit your feelings for someone?

Time rolled on and on and no word. Marcus was gone, Missy was missing. Aliens were going to attack.

So much for a low-key Tuesday.

The slamming of car doors woke you suddenly. You hadn’t even realized that you had fallen asleep on the couch. You looked at the clock. It was just after four-thirty.

Foregoing shoes, you raced out into the late afternoon dusk, the light breeze of spring rippling your hair as you saw -

_Marcus and Missy._

He was fine. She was fine. The threat of aliens was over. You felt like you could breathe again.

He waved at you, saying your name. Throwing all decorum to the wind, you ran over and put your arms around him in a crushing hug. Marcus let out a noise of surprise as his arms wound around you in response.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” you whispered as you pulled back, allowing him and Missy some much-needed time together.

He was safe. He was all right. Nothing bad had happened to him that you knew of.

* * *

Days passed with little interaction. You waved at him as he went to work, Missy texted you to say thank you for looking out for her when everything went down.

You gave the Morenos their space, thinking that the father-daughter duo needed some time to unwind and regroup after what ended up happening.

Until Friday. Something inside you snapped. You needed to talk to him.

You had been trying to finish the reports you were working on all morning with little success. They could wait. You needed to speak to Marcus.

You strode across the lawn to the Moreno house. Things had seemingly gone back to normal with the father and daughter save for one thing. Marcus was an active Heroic again when they needed him to be.

You rang the doorbell and then knocked.

Marcus answered the door, dressed in his casual green t-shirt that was faded with wear. Hair still damp from the shower he had taken earlier in the day after you saw him do drills with his katanas in the backyard. He had smiled fondly at you, sending your heart aflutter. His black-rimmed glasses perched on his nose as he looked at you quizically. You wondered idly if he actually needed the glasses or if he just liked wearing them.

“Hey,” he said, opening the door to let you into the house. “What’s up?”

You inhaled sharply before pushing him in the chest lightly. “I thought you were _dead_! And you were abducted by aliens and-and no one knew where you were. I thought you were dead! I saw you being taken by them on the news and - and -”

Marcus cut you off, speaking your name calmly. “I’m sorry. I’m okay. Nothing happened to me. I was never in any danger. Except maybe when the Heroics were arguing.” He rolled his eyes in attempt to make you less distressed.

But it didn’t work. “I saw you - and - I didn’t want the last time I saw you be when you were taken by them. Without… without…” Your voice fell to a whisper suddenly.

Marcus, you realized then, was very close to you. His hands held yours against his chest where you had pushed him. “Without what?” he asked.

You took a breath. “Without telling you how I feel.”

Marcus’s breath fanned across your cheek, his hands squeezing yours. It was in that moment that you noticed - you didn’t know why _now_ \- that his wedding ring was now on a chain around his neck instead of on his finger.

“Sweetheart. I haven’t done this for a while, I hope I still got it,” he whispered, his lips now inching towards yours.

You couldn’t help but chuckle at the déjà vu from your dreams. Marcus noticed.

“What’s so funny?”

Shaking your head, you said, “It’s nothing. Just a bit of déjà vu is all.” You hoped that he wouldn’t press. “Kiss me, Marcus,” you whispered.

Finally, _finally_ , his lips touched yours almost shyly. You sighed as he deepened the kiss. It was much better than you had ever dreamt it. “Marcus,” you whispered against his lips as he pulled away. You chased his kiss, wanting, _needing_ more.

“I’ve wanted to do that for a long time,” Marcus admitted.

You nodded against his forehead before kissing him again. “Me, too.”

Suddenly, you realized something. “What is it?” asked Marcus, noticing the frown forming on your face. “I’m not _that_ out of practice with my kissing, am I?”

You shook your head fervently. “No! No, that was great, _perfect_ , even.” It wasn’t a platitude. You couldn’t remember the last time you had been kissed that thoroughly. “I just… You didn’t tell me you were a Heroic - the goddamn _leader_ of the Heroics.”

Marcus just shrugged. “It wasn’t exactly a secret,” he said. “What did you think I did?”

Your face went warm with embarrassment. “A scientist,” you mumbled.

Marcus burst out laughing. “I guess there’s a lot we need to learn about each other,” he said with a wink. A chill of anticipation ran down your spine.

“I guess there is,” you replied, your voice light and flirty.

Marcus turned serious for a moment. “Missy’s at my parents’ place for the weekend, if you want to stay. See if there’s any more déjà vu you experience this weekend.” His lips brushed the shell of your ear as he spoke.

As it turned out, you did experience some more déjà vu that weekend as you and Marcus got to know each other better, in more ways than one. But reality was better than your dreams ever were.


End file.
